Well, let's talk about this game. Personally, I think it looks to be the best in the series. Graphics never bothered me, especially when you think about all the people who bashed Barrel Blast for bad graphics. The Wii Wheel looks like an interesting concept, as does the ability to play with every controller imaginable. Twelve-player online. Now, on to the bad things...

The final character selection should include all the characters from Double Dash, Dixie Kong, Toadsworth, a few Super Mario Bros. enemies, two or three more babies, and a big WTF character to top it all off. Wart, Tatanga, or Stanley would do.

I don't really like the look of the game to be honest... looks even more gimmicky than Double Dash. And even at that, DD turned out alright, but this... hrm...

First off, the whole idea of 'stunts' and everything... going up and down halfpipes with a car and doing 360's in the air just isnt appealing to me. Mario Kart has always been about tense, high speed racing, with players always expecting the unexpected. Stunts? Why? This isnt Tony Hawk we're talking about, it's a racing game for god's sake.

Snaking is also back, apparently. It doesn't bother me too much, as I already know how to snake in the DS version, it's just that it kind of hinders the online community in my opinion... splits it into those who can snake and those who cant. Of course, you can always play no-snaking against friends, but for those non-snakers who want a match online against a random opponent... too bad for them.

I'll have to wait and see... although I'll probably rent this one out first.

Shifting focus towards performing tricks may sound like an illogical step to take, but (and I know the genre is a little different) the SSX snowboarding games pulled this off in magnificent style. At least I think so. Having a well-balanced speed boost reward system for risky tricks sounds great to me.

All those babies on the other hand...

As for 'snaking', well I must confess that I don't know MKDS's mechanics, and that term is new to me... but personally I like the idea of advanced control potential, even if it takes some getting used to. Part of the reason I'm such a Squitter fan.

IGN said snaking will be harder to pull off in this game than Mario Kart DS, so that's good. (even though I rawked at snaking) And did y'all see that course with the giant mushroom platforms? That looks like it might be the greatest Mario Kart course yet!

Donkey Kong Jr. is the only Super Mario Kart character not to appear in another Mario Kart game. I'd prefer him much more over Baby Donkey Kong... Although with the way things are going, it probably will be Baby DK. Just in case it's not, I'm calling it: One of Donkey Kong Jr's karts will resemble a Snapjaw in some way. That would be Retro-Tastic!

In terms of DKC representation, I'd say that DK and Diddy are shoe-ins. Dixie should also be a playable character. I'm not saying I agree with every single Kong being thrown into these cameo games, but being in a Mario Kart game will drastically improve Dixie's... er, "important-ness"... and improve her chances of being in other high-profile games. Just look at Diddy. He's in Brawl!

EDIT: It's been a few hours now and nobody's posted on the forums. Where are you guys? Did everyone die? I'm so lonely...

Nope, I'm still alive. I hope that neither baby DK or DK Jr are in it. Having either of them and Donkey Kong in the same place would be the biggest continuity f--- ever. Worse than Yoshi's Island DS. I'd rather have Dk, Diddy, and Dixie, as well as some sort of kremling reference.

True, but are we forgetting that Mario, Peach, and Luigi are already racing alongside their baby counterparts? I don't see how having Donkey Kong Jr. is any different from having Baby Mario in the game.

Jomingo wrote:Nope, I'm still alive. I hope that neither baby DK or DK Jr are in it. Having either of them and Donkey Kong in the same place would be the biggest continuity f--- ever. Worse than Yoshi's Island DS. I'd rather have Dk, Diddy, and Dixie, as well as some sort of kremling reference.

Racing and party games have never been about proper timelines and staying true to the series. Why do you think both Link and young Link were able to play alongside each other in melee? Not to mention, Ganondorf being let out of the dark realm just so he could have some party style punch ups with mario and pikachu.

Diddy and Dixie would be great... but in terms of Kremlings, it would be good to see them on the sidelines of the track or in the background or something... like the references to them in power tennis (the ball-boys) and strikers charged (the goalkeepers).

Well Smash Bros. Series doesn't count, because those aren't the real characters. They are trophies of the characters brought to life to fight eachother. And as for Mario appearing alongside Baby Mario, the Mario series has never cared about continuity in the slightest. The DK series actually makes sence continuity-wise, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Well, just having Funky in the game has all kinds of Nintendo fans freakin' out. "Who the f--- is Funky Kong? I wanted Wiggler!" "Yeah, lolz, i totallies agrees. No more stupid monkey characters, and why come theys boths are Heavy? That's dumb, lolz". It's a shame, is what it is.

I don't know if I'll get this game. I'm sure it'll be worth it, but I don't have any money. I spent it all on Brawl and and N64. If my friend gets it, I'll just go to his house and play it, but if he doesn't, I don't know.

I picked up the game on Sunday (at midnight) and I have to admit it is a complete blast. The first thing I did was go straight for the Time Trial just to get Funky Kong. Then I went and got Diddy Kong and went on to collect all the trophies and mess around on wi-fi. Definitely one of my favorite Mario Karts and a big step up in the franchise as far as I'm concerned.

I'm really enjoying it as well! The wheel is pretty good fun - although I find it's not as accurate as I'd like on the more twisty tracks. Sometimes I tilt the remote as far left as I can, but I end up tilting upwards as well in an attempt to clear a corner - and because I'm tilting it in an awkward way, it's not giving me the same level of control as I'd get with an analog stick. But it's definately the way to go for the easier cups, for a good laugh, and for newcomers.

When you unlock Mii Outfit A, it replaces some of the statues and renders of characters in the courses with Miis from your system. I'm just a little disappointed you can't record your own voice like in Diddy Kong Racing DS, but it's still cool.

So I see DK and Diddy are on that new tournament. And I have a gold trophy on every single Grand Prix, and all but one have at least a star rating. (I'm still stuck on the second Retro Mirror cup, I got a gold trophy on it but the star rating continues to elude my grasp.)

I need help! I read how to unlock characters on this here internet machine, but some of it's not working.

How do I unlock Funky Kong? All I know is I need to unlock 4 "expert staff ghosts", but how do I do that? I beat the Maple Treeway ghost by 8.5 seconds, but I didn't unlock an expert staff ghost. I think it said something about a "fast staff ghost". What is that, and do I have to beat that by 7 seconds?

Also, for Toadette it says to play Time Trial on all 32 tracks. I played on all of them and nothing happened. Do I have to beat every track, or what?

Another thing, any tips on the best tracks and racers to do on Time Trial? How about the best racers to get stars in 150cc Grand Prix mode?

Yes, to unlock all characters, you have to get the expert staff ghost on every single effing level. To do this, you don't just have to beat the normal one. You have to pwn them. Try looking for an online guide or something to teach you the good shortcuts. I went to Best Buy in June and bought the Nintendo Power guide, and that was a great help. Funky requires four, and I think Toadette can only be unlocked once you have the record time on each track.

As for your last question, I usually use a heavyweight character on the Flame Runner for faster and more professional times. Donkey Kong, Rosalina, and Funky work well. King Boo also kicks ass, but he always throws me off because I think he's going to fly off the bike whenever I make a turn or something. (Because he's always floating, you know.)

Only three characters require the unlocking of expert ghosts: Funky Kong (4), Baby Luigi (8), and the second Mii outfit (all of them). The other two time trial characters, Birdo and Toadette, just require you to play the courses in time trial, not beat. Every other staff ghost in-between is just working for vehicles.

People, unlocking the expert ghosts is not that hard. I speak as someone who actually managed to get them all, and is close to beating some of them on a couple tracks. Throw the wheel away, get a heavyweight, and practice with sharp-drift bikes (i.e. the Flame Runner). Try them on a Grand Prix or multiplayer matches until you get the hang of them. Look around online and see where shortcuts to use your mushrooms are (in a lot of cases they'll be pretty obvious, like on Mushroom Gorge, which should be an easy course to get an expert ghost on). Don't race the staff ghost, just try it solo, and then if you don't get the time you need, race your own staff ghost until you can beat that, and again and again until you get it. Just take it slow, jump around to see what courses you do and what courses you can't (I'd recommend saving Shy Guy Beach for #32, frankly, and also use a lightweight character there). When you get Funky, start using him exclusively. It's not that hard. None of this game is, if you know how it works.

EDIT:

I think it said something about a "fast staff ghost".

That IS the expert staff ghost. That means you've unlocked it. You don't have to race it.

Also! Mario Kart Wii is kind of funny when you unlock stuff outside of Grand Prix. Whenever you hit a requirement in Time Trials, you need to exit everything and go back to the title screen, and then pick your profile again. It will then give you the character or vehicle you unlocked. If you turn the game off and turn it back on, it'll do the same thing. It's weird, but you'll get used to it.